A large study of military veterans found that younger adults with a history of insomnia were more likely than those without to develop an irregular heartbeat, and to do so at an earlier age. The results imply that atrial fibrillation, or AFib, may have an early risk factor associated with difficulty falling or staying asleep.
An increasing amount of research indicates that sleep disorders and disturbances are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular issues, such as AFib. The latest research, which was released on Wednesday in the American Heart Association Journal, expands on previous findings and investigates the potential onset age of these risks.
Lead study author Dr. Allison Gaffey, a clinical psychologist and lecturer in the cardiovascular medicine department at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, stated, “We know a lot about the risk factors for AFib in middle-aged and older adults but less about risk factors earlier in life.” “We started looking at younger adults to better guide efforts for earlier prevention.”
When there is a persistently erratic heart rhythm, AFib happens. It can result in blood clots, strokes, heart failure, and other heart problems; it is usually diagnosed after the age of sixty. Previous studies have associated a higher risk of AFib with sleep apnea, a condition that causes breathing to stop and restart during sleep. However, it is unclear how other sleep issues relate to AFib.
More than a million veterans’ electronic health records were reviewed by researchers in the past. At the start of the study, participants were, on average, 28 years old, and they had been receiving medical care from the Veterans Health Administration from October 2001 until the end of 2017. 87% of the participants were male, and 61% had served in active duty. About 11% reported having a diagnosis of insomnia.
In a follow-up period of 16 years, 4,168 cases of AFib were identified. Veterans with a diagnosis of insomnia at the start of the study were 32% more likely to develop AFib than veterans without the sleep disorder.
AFib risk was also elevated in males and those with a history of obesity, alcohol misuse, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart failure, and psychiatric disorders. But the increased risk of AFib for those who had insomnia remained after adjusting for these variables.
Gaffey and her associates also examined the age at which veterans’ irregular heart rhythms first appeared. Since sleep apnea is known to increase the risk of AFib, they adjusted the data for veterans who had sleep apnea before making this decision. The average age at which veterans with insomnia developed AFib was 42.8 years old, as opposed to 45.1 years old, more than two years earlier than veterans without sleep problems.
According to Gaffey, the results might not apply to veterans who are not in the military. Because of their military service, veterans are more likely to suffer from traumatic brain injury, mental health issues like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), anxiety, depression, and musculoskeletal disorders. Perhaps they experience more persistent pain. Their ability to obtain a restful night’s sleep may be impacted by even one of these elements.”
However, the results “indicate a need to investigate insomnia and cardiovascular risk in civilian populations,” the speaker stated.
Dr. Jose Joglar, a cardiologist and professor in the department of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, is the program director of the clinical cardiac electrophysiology fellowship program. He stated that longitudinal studies are necessary to verify whether sleeplessness is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AFib). Joglar did not work on the recently published study.
Nonetheless, he stated that individuals who experience insomnia should be encouraged to seek medical attention because there is sufficient evidence to suggest that inadequate sleep can have a negative impact on heart health.
Joglar remarked, “You don’t need AFib to tell you that insomnia is bad.”
The American Heart Association recommended that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, adding sleep to its list of Life’s Essential 8 essentials for heart and brain health last year.
People who have problems falling asleep are frequently the result of stress and anxiety, according to Gaffey, who also added that sleep problems are treatable.
“Priority one should be to find out how you can lessen or better control the stress in your life,” she advised.
If that is insufficient, Gaffey recommended scheduling a consultation with a medical practitioner to go over a recommendation for cognitive behavioral therapy, a sleep apnea assessment, or sleep aids. “Changes in diet, increased physical activity, and reduced caffeine intake are examples of lifestyle-based approaches that may also help to improve sleep,” the spokesperson said.
